Page 10 of This Time Around

Milo casted his eyes to the floor and swallowed hard. I should’ve felt guilty, but…serial rapist.

“Is that all? I need to get home and cleaned up,” I said casually, but watched him closely for his reaction. It was so subtle that I almost missed the way his body tightened like he was bracing himself for a blow. “Night out with the boys.” I hoped he didn’t ask which boys, because I was totally lying.

Milo met my gaze once more and narrowed his eyes. “What boys?”

In for a penny, in for a pound. I aimed my best, brief-dropping smile at him. “Righty and Lefty, of course.”

“You definitely need to go home and shower then,” Milo said, crinkling his nose. “You’re a little smelly and a whole lot sweaty.”

“Can’t have sweaty, smelly boys when I hit the club,” I agreed.

“Mmmhmm,” Milo agreed. “You do know the owner of Vibe lives in Blissville with Memphis’s cousin, Emory.”

“Yep.”

“Well, you andthe boyshave a good night,” Milo told me. “I havebigplans of my own.Very bigplans.”

I watched him leave through narrowed eyes. If he wanted to make me jealous it worked. I had seen him flirting with the silver fox superintendent every morning when he came in for coffee. Romeo.Snort.What the fuck kind of name was that? I bet it got the man laid more times than I could imagine.

I should’ve gone straight home, showered, and drove to Vibe. Finding a willing man to fuck there wouldn’t be hard. I didn’t need to waste my time on a man who clearly didn’t want me, or at least pretended not to want me. Then I worried that Milo might’ve told me the truth. Did his plans include Vibe too? There was no fucking way I could handle watching him on the dance floor with some douchebag running his hands over his lean body.

I sniffed my pits to see if I really stunk and was happy to find out that Milo was lying about that at least. I headed to Emma and Edson’s diner to drown my sorrow in a thick slab of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, and green beans. If I still had room, I’d eat a piece of peanut butter pie. Better yet, I could take it home and eat it later after I jerked off. Thwacking away my frustration wasn’t working, so maybe I needed to do a little more whacking.

I waved and said hello to the people who greeted me and took a seat at one of the empty bar stools at the L-shaped counter in the middle of the restaurant. Why take a table or a booth when it was just me? I sat there minding my own business when suddenly a dark shadow loomed over me. I looked up to see Kyle Vaughn, the town vet, standing beside me. Kyle wore a constant scowl in my presence even though my crime was committed more than a year earlier. I had asked Chaz out on a date, not knowing that the two guys had feelings for one another. Chaz shot me down, and the good doctor never forgave me for asking an unattached man out on a date.

“Hello, Doc.” At least I refrained from repeating a cartoon bunny’s famous phrase.

“Andy,” he said dryly.

“I’m just Andy now, huh? No more Beefcake Andy?” I smiled at his discomfort. At least he had the good grace to cringe. There were much worse nicknames he could’ve given me though.

“You know about that, huh?”

“Small town.”

I’d overheard Milo refer to me as Beefcake Andy when he was talking to his mom and sister. He was waving his hand dramatically in front of his face like he was fanning himself and using a falsetto voice that indicated he was mocking his mother or sister who knew damned well I stood behind him. “I do declare, Milo. I wish you could find yourself a strapping stud for a carpenter. Oh, I know! Beefcake Andy!” he had exclaimed excitedly.

“Strapping stud, huh? It’s nice to know that you still notice, Milo,” I had teased. “Beefcake Andy is a new one though. It’s kinda catchy. I was trying to come up with a slogan the other day. The best I could come up with was Handy Andy, but I like yours much better. Perhaps I should change the name of my business and slap that on my T-shirt.”

I blew it off like it was no big deal, but I couldn’t help but like the name he’d given me. Later, I learned it was Kyle who dubbed me Beefcake Andy, and the nickname lost its appeal.

“What can I do for you?” I asked Kyle.

“I really appreciate the way you stuck up for Mark and Daniel last week. They told me that you stepped in when some high school boys started bullying them. Mark will face some tough times ahead, and it’s nice to know that people in our community will look out for him when Chaz and I aren’t there. I know Chaz called and thanked you already, but I wanted to thank you too.” Kyle offered me his first genuine smile and extended his hand.

I shook it. “I’m glad I could help.”

The waitress, Daniella, set my dinner in front of me, and Kyle surprised me even more when he slapped me on the back. “I won’t keep you from your meal. I’m taking home dinner to Chaz and Mark since it was a long day for everyone. Have a good night.”

“You too.”

That was a pleasant turn of events, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the unsettled feelings I had after my confrontation with Milo. I couldn’t understand what it was about my high school boyfriend that snagged my attention and wouldn’t let go. I heard someone take the seat next to me just as I forked my first bite of meatloaf into my mouth. The hair stood up all over my body, and I knew who it was without looking.

“Thought you had big plans?” I asked.

“I was about to ask you the same thing,” Milo said, sounding miserable.

My heart sank when I turned my head and saw the expression in his eyes matched his somber tone. “I lied.” I leaned closer and lowered my voice. “I still have plans with Righty and Lefty, but it will just be the three of us.” I straightened back in my chair suddenly. “Sorry, I forgot that I stink.”